


Inside of Every Demon is a Soul

by CadillacJack



Category: Hazbin Hotel (Web Series), Helluva Boss (Web Series)
Genre: Blood and Gore, Childhood Memories, Childhood Trauma, Death, Gen, Heaven & Hell, Hell, I wish more episodes were out like yesterday, Let Charlie do her thing, Might be AU in the future, Pre-Canon, Vaggie has a brief cameo at the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-18
Updated: 2020-02-18
Packaged: 2021-02-27 18:28:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22780243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CadillacJack/pseuds/CadillacJack
Summary: A six year old Charlotte 'Charlie' Magne attends her first Extermination with her parents. Things are never the same again.
Relationships: Charlie Magne & Everyone
Comments: 9
Kudos: 35





	Inside of Every Demon is a Soul

**Author's Note:**

> So yeah Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss are AMAZING!
> 
> And while I can't get more episodes, I can at least share this story in the meantime!
> 
> Hope you all enjoy and feel free to leave your thoughts!

The smell was always the worst of it.

Walking onto the balcony, head hung low, Charlie felt the stench of death invade her nostrils.

Reaching the end of the balcony, Charlie pointed a single finger into the sky. A bright spark shot out of her finger, flew into the red, hazy sky and exploded into a sea of fireworks.

It was safe once again.

One by one the citizens of Hell either opened their windows or walked into the streets. Some were already trying to loot the businesses that had suffered serious damage. Others were cleaning up the multiple remains in the street. What they had planned for them Charlie didn't want to know.

Charlie glanced up at the sky and saw a tiny white hole getting smaller and smaller before it disappeared.

The Angels had left.

They had retreated back into their heavenly domain, no doubt feeling gleeful about all the residents they had recently slaughtered.

They didn't see her people as broken souls in need of retribution. They saw them as pawns, useless beings that needed to be erased. Where they were erased to Charlie still didn't know.

But the worst part was that nobody seemed to care. They all just carried on with their malicious filled lives. They all just accepted the circumstances they were in, never wanting to see the silver lining in anything.

Charlie it seemed was the only one who still saw her people as victims instead of villains.

She kept this fact to herself most of the time, not that she had a large circle of friends to tell this secret to.

It was laughable really.

The daughter of fallen angel number one, inheritor to the entire kingdom of the underworld was a warm, kind-hearted soul that saw the good (instead of the bad) in everything around her.

Charlie had always struggled with her self-esteem in the past. Despite her parents claiming that she was flawless in every way, she didn't feel that way.

Her positive attitude was shared by no one around her and the few friends she did make as a child practically abandoned her when she told them of her dream to rehabilitate sinners.

Some probably wondered for days on end how someone in such a vile bloodline could have the soul of an angel.

But Charlie knew, all thanks to a little memory that had managed to leech itself to her memories

The stench of death around her triggered the memory from its restless slumber.

XXXXXXX

Six year old Charlotte 'Charlie' Mange spun around in her room, having already been dressed to the tee by the hundreds of servants already.

Her loyal goat companions, Razzle and Dazzle, were nearby. Razzle was at the piano and Dazzle was playing a Cello.

Charlie wore a velvety red dress complete with black buttons, white pockets and black tap dancing shoes.

Her mother was adamant about her daughter wearing high heels, but Charlie was persistent on her need to sing and dance whenever the mood struck her.

For Charlie, dancing was more than just an art form. It was a way of life, a way to get to the heart of the matter, to say the words that just couldn't be spoken, to feel as if nothing else in the world mattered except for the rhythm of your feet on the ground.

It was in the middle of one such twirl that she felt herself bump up against something soft. She turned and saw her mother, Lilith, who was dressed up in a purple gown, looking down at her. She tried to bore an expression of annoyance but the joy in her eyes gave it a weak foundation.

"Charlotte honey you need to watch where you twirl. Around Hell you never know what might be lurking out there."

Charlie pouted. "Mom I told you to call me Charlie!"

Her mother scoffed slightly. "And what's wrong with a beautiful name like Charlotte?"

"It's a girly name and it makes me feel like the other kids are below me!"

Her mother smiled and patted her head. "That's because they are below you honey. Everyone in the whole world, except for your family, is an ugly, disgusting vermin that needs to die."

"That's not true mommy!" Charlie replied and slightly pouted. "The ones that play with me always seem really nice!"

Her mother raised an eyebrow.

"Or…at least I see the good things in them." Charlie sheepishly replied.

Lilith sighed. "I swear child I don't know where that endless amount of sunshine you have comes from."

"From those Walt Mimsy movies mommy!" Charlie replied happily. "They have happy songs and characters and endings and they make me feel so happy!"

Her mother smiled. "That's Walt Disney honey and I'm starting to think that those movies are a bad influence on you."

"Well in that case we better get going," A far off voice called out.

Charlie turned and saw her father, Lucifer Dante Mange standing in the doorway.

He donned his traditional white suit, white top hat, pink and white shirt. All the while he twirled his cane that was embedded with the Forbidden Fruit itself, a single apple.

He was noticeable shorter than his demon wife but he carried himself as if he could reach beyond the sky.

"Daddy!" Charlie's face beamed with its usual brightness as she ran towards her father.

Her father made his cane vanish with a snap of his fingers before he scooped up his only child and twirled her around in his arms.

"I think you're getting too big for this dear," Lucifer said.

Charlie thought it over for the briefest of seconds. "Hmm…no."

Lucifer laughed before he placed his daughter back on the ground.

"I'm glad to see you're so excited for today Charlotte," Lucifer said.

His wife chuckled. "I think she's excited about every day the more I think about it."

Charlie looked up at her father. "Daddy what's so special about today again?"

Lucifer would never grow tired of his daughter's innocent face.

"Why today you're about to take part in a very special occasion young lady!" Her dad replied.

"Is there going to be a parade and candy and cake just like my birthday?"

Lucifer smiled, although her eyes glinted differently for a minute. "You are to experience your first Extermination."

Charlie had heard the word before. Often when she was playing in her playroom, she would hear a couple of servants down the hall. They always whispered in hush tones, as if their very lives were to be snuffed out if the information leaked to their boss. Charlie would just shrug her shoulders. After all, if it were a bad thing her parents would tell her.

Right?

But once a year, several servants would guide her into the mansion's main elevator and travel 666 floors to an area that looked like a bunker from the World War 2 days. She always cried for her parents to join her but they always reassured her that they were in no real danger and that this would only be a temporarily leave.

In the bunker, Charlie would often play board games or even do a bit of tap dancing with the dozen or so servants with her. And when they went back to the surface level, her parents would be there waiting with a smile on their face and a cup of hot chocolate (Charlie's favorite drink) in their hands.

Despite the foreboding name, the young girl still smiled with enough brightness to rival the sun when she heard her father give the news of today.

"This is great!" Charlie cried. "My first Extermination! Do you think we'll be able to see everything?"

Her father chuckled. "Everything and then some my dear. I have a good feeling that this day will be the most important one of your life."

XXXXXXX

Charlie stood on her tippy toes to peer over the balcony to get a better view.

She and her family were currently on the large balcony situated on the furthest southwest quadrant of the family mansion.

Charlie always loved to sneak out here from time to time in order to look down at the city below. It seemed impossible but the views from the balcony allowed for the young girl to see practically every corner of hell, from the wealthy west side of the pentagram to the adjoining 'Imp City'.

From what she could see, the residents below seemed to carry on as they usually did. They'd enter the multiple brothels and casinos on the streets, scam people into buying low grade trinkets or even get into drunken brawls in the streets.

It was business as usual.

Charlie watched for what felt like hours (when in reality it was two minutes) before she turned back to her parents, who were in their respective thrones holding each other's hand.

"Daddy I'm bored! Can't you make something happen?"

"Life is 90% waiting and 10% doing my dear," Her father replied. "You have to learn to enjoy the build up."

Charlie tilted her head and was about to inquire further about what her father meant when a bloodcurdling shriek rang through the air.

Charlie's head snapped in every direction. The noise seemed to be coming from the sky but everything looked normal.

That was until a portion of the sky popped open like a balloon before hundreds upon hundreds of…things flew out of the hole and onto the streets below.

Charlie stood on her tippy toes again to try and get a better look before Razzle and Dazzle climbed onto each other's backs and lifted the young girl onto them.

Now that she could see over the railing better, Charlie could get a better view of these new figures in her life.

The figures were grey in question, save for their dark grey wings and horns. They each bore a grey halo above their heads, complete with a sort of pink gem in the middle.

But what intrigued/frightened the young girl the most was their faces.

Their faces were more like holographic screens than anything else. One minute they would have two normal eyes and a blank expression. Then the next minute, their mouths would be twisted into a horrible grin, with one of their eyes being replaced with a large 'X'.

Charlie stepped off her goat companions and ran to her parents.

"Mommy! Daddy! What are those things?!"

"Those are Angel's sweetie," Her mother replied, as if they were having a casual conversation.

"Angels?" Charlie asked.

"Yes my dear," Lucifer continued. "Overpopulation in Hell is quite a recurring problem. So I and that big fellow in the sky made a little arrangement. He allowed me to create this fine kingdom of other fallen angels while he sends his little posse to ensure that we have enough booze, drugs and food to feed all our residents."

"But what happens to them after they die?" Charlie asked. "I thought they were already dead."

Her father tapped the side of his nose. "Family secret."

Charlie walked back to the railing and hopped onto Razzle and Dazzle yet again.

She always remembered her Father telling her stories about life on the surface of Earth. He used to tell her that only the most rotten and vile individuals in existence were sent to Hell. Punishment for their past sins was eternity in the underworld.

At first Charlie couldn't exactly understand why being sent here was a punishment. After all, there were no lakes of fire or endless torture like some of her books described.

But this scene playing out before her was enough to answer that question.

The resident's eyes bulged in terror at the approaching figures. Some were lucky enough to lock themselves in a car, run into an adjacent shop that still had the door unlocked or even jump through a glass window to get inside.

But others weren't so lucky.

A resident's screams were brutally cut short when a sharp spear plunged into their mouths, out through the back of the head and into a brick wall.

Another threw their spear through the air, piercing three demons in a row through their heads. Their bodies fell to the ground as if they were ragdolls.

Sometimes two angels would gang up on one individual and brutally rip them in half with their bare hands. All the while the resident would scream at the top of their lungs until there was silence.

Charlie's mouth practically hit the floor, and her vision became blurry with tears, as she glanced back at her parents. Her parents sat there like they were watching a baby trying to walk.

"This is horrible! This is murder! This is illegal!"Charlie screamed.

"This is hell Charlotte," Lucifer replied with a smile. "Plain and simple. You should be thankful that we have such immunity from these purges."

"And just think darling," Her mother added. "When you take over the throne, you'll be able to enjoy such exterminations like this year after year."

"Although I'm sure some will be more memorable than others," Her father added as he glanced lovingly at his wife.

"You wouldn't dare tell our baby girl what we did on our first Extermination together would you?" Lilith asked.

Her devilish husband simply wiggled his eyebrows and grinned widely.

Lilith laughed and began to say something else but Charlie didn't hear them. She was too engrossed in the carnage below.

Blood…so much blood ran through the streets. Skeleton vultures had already started to pick at the fresh bloody remains.

Her people were dying and there was nothing she could do about it.

Charlie felt something stir inside of her. She couldn't exactly describe what it was but it felt hot. It felt like a thousand sons infiltrated her body and filled her vision with red.

She glanced at Razzle and Dazzle before her gaze moved towards the streets. With a confirming nod, the two goat demons grabbed Charlie by the arms before they flapped their wings, flew up into the sky and moved away from the mansion.

Charlie could hear the shrill shrieks of her mother and the deep, frightening roar of her father from behind her but she didn't dare turn around.

Her attention was too focused on trying to stop the carnage below. In her innocent young mind, she was too precious of a child for the angels to slaughter.

She would be alright.

Right?

XXXXXXX

Charlie knew that Razzle and Dazzle had been just as distracted as she was.

When they lowered her onto the street she felt her right foot step into something warm and squishy. She hesitantly looked down and saw her right foot firmly planted in the spilled out brains of its nearby occupant.

Charlie screamed as she lifted up her right foot and tried to shake away the brain matter on her show.

But in doing so she tripped over a corpse behind her. As she felt the back of her head hit the pavement, Charlie cried out in agony and shut her eyes.

When she heard the sound of flapping wings nearby she was sure that it was her parents who had surely come after her.

But when she opened her eyes, she found herself staring up at six angels looking down upon her. Their faces had two small white dots for eyes and a thin, straight slit for a mouth.

As if they were trained dogs, they all tilted their heads from the left before they slowly tilted them to the right.

Charlie felt like her limbs had melted into the pavement while her mouth was sewn together. She could only focus on her heartbeat racing faster and faster.

Suddenly, the faces of the angels cut to a picture of static before their faces became a blood red wide grin and two accompanying eyes of the same color. They all raised their spears to aim directly into Charlie's eyes.

Charlie let out a bloodcurdling scream before she heard a deafeningly loud thump from behind her. The angels lifted their heads and saw Lucifer standing no less than 50 ft. His entire body was aglow with an intense red flame. His eyes were as black as coal and a small stream of blood was drooling out of his clenched teeth.

"Get…out," Lucifer's spoke slowly in a voice that would peel paint off walls.

It dripped with so much venom that the angels were surprised that the ground hadn't melted underneath his feet.

The angels kept their sadistic smiles but moved their weapons away from Charlie's face.

Charlie heard her father and the angels speaking but she never could remember what exactly the words were.

But what she did remember was a feeling of utter relief when she saw her father nearby. Charlie began to slowly crawl towards her father.

Charlie had crawled only a few inches when she felt something grab her ankle. Charlie let out a short scream before she quickly spun around her body.

It was a demon…or rather the upper half of a demon. The lower half was nowhere to be seen. They were purple in color, with a set of matching red horns and yellow eyes with red pupils.

"Little girl…" The demon's voice was a dry and cracked as a sidewalk on a summer's day. "Please…help…me."

Charlie normally would've loved the chance to help out her fellow demon but something about the fear in his eyes caused her limbs to freeze up.

"I…I never wanted this," The demon's face was soon stained by tears. "I…did some shit. I killed people…but those people…slaughtered my family…right in front of me." The demon took a ragged breath. "They had to pay…why do I have to pay? Why can't I change for the better…why couldn't I leave this place?!"

Charlie felt her own eyes begin to sting from the tears.

"Please…I'm not a bad person…I just want to see my family again."

What happened next caused Charlie to rub her eyes vigorously.

The demon's body began to flicker, like characters on an old fashioned TV set. The demon's scaly, purple skin soon became pale human skin. The demon began to form dark brown hair, a pair of bright blue eyes and a brown beard with the tiniest bit of grey to it. Those striking blue eyes now contained more desperation than anything Charlie had ever seen before. Worse yet they were still locked onto her eyes as well. The demon's original and human form began to flicker back forth endlessly before a sharp cane was slammed into the demon's skull and out the back of his head.

Charlie jumped back in fright and looked up to see her father pulling the cane out of the dead demon's brain.

"I swear these monologues are getting longer and longer my dear," Lucifer's said with a smile, like he had just won a round of golf.

But Charlie didn't reply. Her eyes wouldn't leave the lifeless body that showed a human soul for the briefest of moments.

"And has for you young lady," Lucifer was just about to raise his voice when he suddenly took a long deep breath. "I don't know what I'm going to do with you."

"But daddy…"

"SHUT UP!" Satan's face contorted into that of a goat's before it reverted back to its usual self. But by now Lucifer's smile was gone. A thin silt of his mouth was the only emotion he conveyed.

"I don't want to hear it. Razzle, Dazzle fly my daughter home. You are to too see it that she stays put in her home until I'm in a more civilized manner to handle this matter. And if you fail to do even that right, I will not hesitate to gouge out your eyes and skull-fuck you into the next millennium! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!"

The two goat demons gulps but nodded nonetheless.

With that Satan turned, allowed the black leathery wings to sprout from his back, and flew towards the mansion.

Razzle and Dazzle allowed themselves to gently grab Charlie's shoulder before they began to gently lift the princess into the sky. All the way home, Charlie's eyes never left that corpse that held more soul than sin.

XXXXXXX

Charlie sat on her tiny stool. Ordinarily she would've used the chair when she was in the middle of her many tea parties. But on this particular occasion, Charlie sat facing the large wooden doors in front of her. In a short while, her father would walk in, or maybe knock the doors off their hinges, and scold her endlessly for her actions today. Razzle and Dazzle sat close by her, occasionally rubbing their heads affectionately against the young girl's lap. Charlie greatly appreciated their company; the way her heart was beating she was sure she could've had a heart attack right then and there.

A series of footsteps coming down the hall caused the trio's heads to perk up. They heard the footsteps coming closer and closer until they stopped right in front of the door.

Charlie tried to take several deep breaths but found her chest getting tighter and tighter.

The door slowly opened and Lucifer stepped in. His hat was now gone allowing his golden locks to flow freely.

Charlie could smell the faintest hint of 'Diablo Ultra Death Tequila'. Charlie knew her father only drank it on his worst days.

"So Charlotte," Her father's voice was sickly sweet as if he were about to ask her what she wanted for Christmas or Xmas as Hellions called it. "Why did you run away from the safety of our home and throw yourself so stupidly into the Extermination today?"

Charlie bent her head down low. "I couldn't watch our people being killed! One of them looked at me...he started to look like a human daddy! There's something more within those people. Something...the angels can't see! Something maybe you can't even see!"

Lucifer said nothing for a good solid minute. But suddenly, out of nowhere, Lucifer began to laugh. Charlie couldn't remember her father laughing so much. It got to a point where Charlie herself began to laugh, albeit in a more nervous fashion.

But after a while, her father ceased laughing and looked at her with his trademark grin again.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear any of that fucking schmaltz and if you're truly my daughter you'll shut up and listen."

Charlie's mouth dropped but she obeyed her father's command.

"Demons are nothing but a reminder of everything that's wrong in the whole above us today. And the best part is, the world above is such a shithole that there's a never-ending import of souls to waste the rest of their pathetic lives. As far as I see it, Extermination is just a necessary precaution to ensure that overpopulation in Hell doesn't happen. It's much similar to how people on Earth die in order to avoid overpopulation. The only difference is that our system works better."

"But daddy the demon spoke to me! He killed people but he killed the people who murdered his family! He wanted to be with his family again! Why can't he go to Heaven?"

"BECAUSE THAT'S NOT HOW IT WORKS!" Lucifer roared, causing Charlie to cover her ears. Lucifer breathed in deeply before he continued.

"Dear, life is not fair. I know not every demon out there is a child molester or a serial killer but to me it doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is making sure my 1000 year plus operation stays in tip top shape. And Exterminations are just another part of the business."

"But daddy can't we control overpopulation another way?" Charlie asked. "Like helping some demons become good again.

Lucifer gave out a short laugh. "I swear your sense of humor almost makes up for today. Charlie you're just going to have to accept the way things are. There's no more hope for any of those pathetic souls out there. Do you understand dear?"

Charlie was about to respond when that familiar hot feeling came back... Her thoughts became nothing but replayed conversations between what the late demon had said and what her father just said. She felt something crawling under her skin near the top of her head while her vision began to only see in shades of red.

Keeping her eyes shut, Charlie took a deep breath. "No."

Lucifer's cane nearly fell out of his hands. He grit his teeth so hard that he thought they'd break under the pressure.

"What...was...that?" Lucifer asked through clenched teeth.

"I said... NO! "

A set of black horns ripped through Charlie's skin on the top of her head. Her teeth grew over a foot long and sharper, a pair of large, leathery wings ripped out of the back of her dress. The wings expanded to their full length (about 12 feet in length). Charlie's eyes were now blood red with a dark shade of yellow for her irises. She spoke again but now her voice was depths deeper and louder.

"I AM NOT GOING TO STAND HERE AND WITNESS MORE DEATH TO INNOCENT PEOPLE! YOU SAID THAT I WOULD ONE DAY INHEIRT THIS EMPIRE THAN WHY DON'T I DO THAT RIGHT NOW! OR ELSE YOU'LL BE SORRY!"

"Charlie's father yawned."Three things sugar. One, you do not have a violent bone in your body. In fact I'm sure there's more sunshine than blood in your system. You can't lay a finger on me no matter how hard you try. Second, I'm proud of you for embracing your demon form so early. I swear children these days grow up so fast these days. And third, do you really think you'd take the throne now?"

The intense glare in Charlie's eyes died down slightly. "W-what?"

"If you so wish to take control of my empire I need someone who takes glee in watching the innocent slaughter not offended by it. I need a winner not a failure."

Charlie's eyes changed from their demonic red eyes to her normal eyes, now with tears appearing around the edges.

"W-what are you saying daddy?" The roar in her voice before was gone.

"That you are a failure. And you always will be in my eye after what I've seen today…Charlie."

The words might as well have blown Charlie's heart right out of her chest cavity.

The intense flames surrounding Charlie disappeared as her wings slid back into her back. She slid to the floor in a heap, as tears began to fall down her face. She choked out a few sobs before she glanced back up at her father, whose face held no emotion.

"You…you don't mean that right daddy? What did mommy say? You…say things and then everything will work out in the end. And then…we can be a happy family again."

Charlie felt a large hand slap her across the face. She fell to the ground as she held her right cheek in agony.

"Stop spewing that Disney bullshit and listen to me." Charlie winced as she began to cry. "You are the heiress of Hell. You will have to take on the responsibilities of my kingdom. And until you learn to appreciate every last drop of suffering in this infernal hellhole or you will be on your own."

Charlie didn't reply. She felt her head being lifted up by her father's cane as her tear soaked eyes glanced into his cold, steel ones.

"Do you understand or do I have to make you understand?"

Charlie slowly nodded.

"Good girl," Lucifer lowered his cane and plastered a smile back on his face. "Now wash up and get to bed now okay? Love you!"

And with that her father walked out of the room. Charlie slowly crawled onto her massive king sized bed in the corner. She placed her head in the pillow and let out a large scream. She repeated this action over and over again until she felt her voice begin to crack.

But before she could lift her head, Charlie heard her bedroom door open yet again.

"Charlotte?" Lilith's sweet soothing voice was like a drop of water in the desert.

Charlie could feel her mother's soft hand rub her back in small circles but still she didn't look up.

"I…I…" Charlie tried to speak but her mother only shushed her.

They stayed like that for what felt like an hour before Charlie lifted her head and looked at her mother.

"Mommy…you don't think I'm a failure do you? Just because I see the good in everything doesn't make me a bad person right?"

Lilith stayed silent for a moment before she forced a smile. "Absolutely not my dear. You should strive for whatever makes you happy."

Charlie instantly got to her feet as her happiness batteries instantly recharged. "So you think that souls in Hell could go to Heaven after all right?"

Lilith's eyes fell sideways.

"Why don't I find something nice for you to watch okay dear?"

Charlie eagerly nodded despite her question going unanswered. "Can I pick the movie?"

"No!" Lilith answered a bit forcefully before she collected herself. "I mean no sweetie. You're father has begun to agree with me about those family movies being a bad influence on you so I'm throwing on something more wholesome for tonight."

Lilith walked over to the large TV on the other side of the room. She turned the device on, scrolled through a few channels before she landed on the movie 'The Shining' by Stanley Kubrick.

"Remember its lights out after the movie's over okay?"

Charlie sighed and shook her head slowly.

Lilith smiled. "Good girl." Lilith walked back to Charlie and gave her a kiss on the cheek before she left the room.

After Razzle and Dazzle helped her get ready for bed, Charlie sat on her bed and stared at the TV mindlessly. Her expression nothing but a total blank.

Sensing their owner's distress, Razzle and Dazzle ran to the TV and began switching it to something that Charlie would appreciate.

Landing on a random station, Charlie saw that it was an old black and white movie, probably from the 1940's or so. A woman in a black coat could be seen standing beside another man, who sat at a piano. A bittersweet melody flowed through the air as the woman began to sing:

__

_I'm always chasing rainbows_

__

_Watching clouds drifting by_

__

_My schemes are just like all my dreams_

__

_Ending in the sky_

__

_Some fellows look and find the sunshine_

__

_I always look and find the rain_

__

_Some fellows make a winning sometime_

__

_I never even make a gain, believe me_

__

_I'm always chasing rainbows_

__

_Waiting to find a little bluebird in vain_

__

_Some fellows look and find the sunshine_

__

_But I always look and find the rain_

__

_Some fellows make a winning sometime_

__

_I never even make a gain, believe me_

__

_I'm always chasing rainbows_

__

_Waiting to find a little bluebird in vain_

Charlie felt oddly comforted by the sad melody as she felt her eyelids slowly close only to see that haunting expression of the demon/man in her dreams that night and almost every night in her life.

XXXXXXX

As Charlie sung the last verse of the song, she felt her HellPhone buzz in her pants pocket. Glancing down at the screen she saw that it was her closest friend (or was she more than a friend?) Vaggie.

Charlie sighed and answered the phone.

"Charlie where are you? The 666 interview is in less than two hours and we haven't gone over any of the talking points yet!"

Charlie allowed Vaggie's voice to enter one ear and exit out the other.

"Charlie?" Vaggie asked, sounding less irritated and more concerned. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, sorry Vags," Charlie wiped her eyes. "Just…this Extermination…brings back bad memories."

"Do you need me to pick you up?" Vaggie asked.

"No…I'll be right over I just…gotta take a minute to relax. I mean…going on one of the biggest networks in Hell is just…wow you know?"

"Right," Vaggie replied in an: 'I don't believe you' tone.

"Just text me when you get here okay?"

Charlie sniffed. "O-okay. See you soon. Bye."

Charlie pressed the 'End Call Button' on her screen before she put the phone back in her pocket.

Charlie glanced down at the streets below yet again. Already, life in hell was continuing as usual, as if hundreds upon thousands of souls weren't just erased from existence.

Charlie wondered just how many of them would take her seriously once she announced her dream of the 'Happy Hotel'. Charlie wondered just how many of them would even listen to her whole speech or her subsequent song and dance number she knew she just had to do.

But the memory of that fateful day came into her mind again. She often wished it could disappear but it seemed to be branded into her mind.

Charlie took a deep breath and put on her brightest smile as she began to make her way to the elevator.

She wasn't going to let more innocent demons fall to the Angels. She would see to it that each sinner would find their way home again.

She was going to ace that interview and have demons lined up out the door!

They would believe in her dream!

Wouldn't they?

**Author's Note:**

> I'm proud I mustered up enough willpower to finish this baby! Procrastination is a hell of a thing!
> 
> It's hard writing for characters that haven't been introduced in the show yet (Lucifer and Lilith). Something tells me that Lucifer in the show will be less of an asshole than he is here but hey if nothing else it's an interesting AU!
> 
> Anyway hope you all enjoyed and I'll catch you next time!
> 
> Peace!


End file.
